My Life: And Other Massive Mistakes

Mac Slater Imaginator

my life and other exploding chickens

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Tristan Bancks is a children’s and teen author with a background in acting and filmmaking. His books include the My Life series, Mac Slater Coolhunter (Australia and US) and Two Wolves, a crime-mystery novel for middle-graders. Two Wolves won Honour Book in the 2015 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards and was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards. It also won the YABBA and KOALA Children’s Choice Awards and has been released in the US as On the Run (Farrar Straus Giroux). Tristan's short films as writer and director have won a number of awards and have screened widely in festivals and on TV. His most recent book is My Life & Other Exploding Chickens, a fourth book of weird-funny-gross, semi-autobiographical short stories. Tristan is excited by the future of storytelling and inspiring others to create.

Tristan's Books:

The Fall (2017)

In the middle of the night, Sam is woken by angry voices from the apartment above.

He goes to the window to see what’s happening – only to hear a struggle, and see a body fall from the sixth-floor balcony. Pushed, Sam thinks.

Sam goes to wake his father Harry, a crime reporter, but Harry is gone. And when Sam goes downstairs, the body is gone, too. But someone has seen Sam, and knows what he’s witnessed.

The next twenty-four hours could be his last.

My Life & Other Weaponised Muffins (2017)

Have you ever been trapped inside a runaway car? Have you broken a world record? Is there someone in your class who will stop at nothing to kiss you? Have you ever tricked your dog into doing your homework? Or found something seriously disgusting in your food? Have you sold head lice for fun and profit? Or has your mum ever used raspberry and white chocolate muffins as weapons of minor destruction?

I’m Tom Weekly and all of these things have happened to me. I’ve captured them here in stories, jokes, cartoons, quizzes and lists. Believe me, real life is weirder than anything you can make up.

Two Wolves (2014)

One afternoon, police officers show up at Ben Silver's front door. Minutes after they leave, his parents arrive home. Ben and his little sister Olive are bundled into the car and told they're going on a holiday. But are they? It doesn't take long for Ben to realise that his parents are in trouble. Ben's always dreamt of becoming a detective – his dad even calls him ‘Cop'. Now Ben gathers evidence and tries to uncover what his parents have done. The problem is, if he figures it out, what does he do? Tell someone? Or keep the secret and live life on the run?

Galactic Adventures: First Kids in Space (July 2011)

Dash Campbell has only ever had one dream. To go to space. But does he have what it takes to survive Space School? A gripping and inspiring space adventure for ages 9+. www.firstkidsinspace.com

My Life series (2011 to present)

Have you ever been kissed by a dog? Ever had to eat Vegemite off your sister's big toe? Has a bloodthirsty magpie ever been out to get you? Have you woken up to discover that everything hovers? And have you eaten 67 hot dogs in ten minutes? Tom Weekly has.

A rollicking book series jam-packed with funny short stories for ages 7+.

The Mac Slater books (Random House) are a rapid-fire read for grades 4 to 8, full of wild inventions, fast-paced action, and technology that kids can relate to. Extensive teachers' notes at www.tristanbancks.com.

Nit Boy 1: Liftoff and Nit Boy 2: Bugout (May 2009)

The Nit Boy series is for primary school aged children and it deals with the perennial problem of nits in a fast, funny and slightly disgusting way, with fantastic illustrations. These will grab even the most reluctant reader (www.nitboy.com).

it's yr life (June 2009)

YA novel for ages 14+. Co-written with Tempany Deckert, Tristan's co-star on Home and Away as a teenager. They re-teamed to write this suspenseful novel via email between his home in Byron Bay and Tempany's in L.A.

Skype Visits

All of Tristan's talks can be delivered remotely via Skype. This is a great option for regional visits to cut down on travel costs. It is also a good option for an ongoing series of workshops and interactions with students. A brilliant use of the technology now available in most classrooms.

TALKS

1. My Life & Other Stuff I Made Up

Autobiographical talk using anecdotes, images, video and the Web to trace how Tristanʼs books relate to his life story. From schoolboy in Sydneyʼs Blue Mountains to teen TV actor and presenter in Australia and London, through travel and university to filmmaking and life as an author. Discover the books Tristan loves to read, how he finds inspiration and how he makes a living telling stories for page and screen. Along the way, have lots of laughs, gain valuable tips on using your own life to inspire your stories and help create a weird, funny, gross short story for My Life book three.

2. Two Wolves

Tristanʼs middle-grade novel Two Wolves is a collision of Nature and technology. Discover why he wrote the book mostly outdoors and how he took pictures of real-life locations and gathered news stories to build the world of the book. Hear a short reading, see the TV news story book trailer, sample the soundtrack and get inspired to read, and even to write your own crime / mystery story.

3. Vision Boarding

One of Tristanʼs most popular talks. From soundtracks to storyboarding, movie trailers to animation, writing a book can be a totally 3D experience. See his Vision Board, which helps him create his books. Learn techniques on how you can fuse TV, the web, video, music, maps, apps and old-fashioned books to write your own stories.

4. Character-Story-World

Look at Tristanʼs stories by exploring the three pillars of good storytelling – Character, Story and World – and how he develops these on each of his books in order to bring fictional worlds to life.

NB: Tristan can tailor talks to address specific areas of the curriculum.

All of Tristanʼs talks and most of his workshops can be delivered remotely via Skype, Google Hangout and other video conferencing tools. A great option for regional visits to cut down on travel costs. It is also a good option for an ongoing series of workshops and interactions with students. A brilliant use of the technology now available in most classrooms.

WORKSHOPS

1. Your Life & Other Stuff You Made Up

How can you use all the odd, boring, funny stuff that happens to you and turn it into excellent stories? Author Tristan Bancks used bits from his life to inspire his short story collections My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up and My Life & Other Stuff That Went Wrong. Like the time his sister made him eat Vegemite off her toe and the time he had his appendix removed just to get out of school detention. Learn how to mine your own life for cool, weird, funny stories that your friends and teachers will love.

2. Story Safari – An Outdoor Writing Adventure

Participants observe, experience and let the world around them rush onto the page. The forward-motion and physical exercise bring the writing experience alive, forging new and unexpected stories. Can be done in the school playground! http://bit.ly/xror8X (Inspired by Tristan’s writing process on his book Two Wolves.)

3. Story Scrapbook – Writing Supercharged

Create and visualise stories using Tristanʼs free multimedia story brainstorming tool, Story Scrapbook. Bring together images, video, music, maps, text and web grabs on virtual pages. This popular workshop is based on the authorʼs own multimedia-fuelled approach, supercharging the writing process for people who think visually, interactively and aurally, as well as textually. http://bit.ly/Jhk46m

4. Tell Stories Like a Filmmaker

Discover storytelling tools that I learnt while working in TV & film. Find out how cinematic story tools can make writing more engaging and fun. Filmmaking tools help with worldbuilding, imagery, detail, voice, pacing and other important facets of storytelling.

5. Introduction to Short Story Writing

A hands-on 1–5-hour workshop discovering the basics of writing a short story:

6. Writing From the Inside Out

In-depth writing workshop for very keen / talented writers aged 10+ wanting to take their work to the next level and excavate the stories locked inside them. This workshop goes beyond ʻGetting Startedʼ and plunges into Voice, Setting, Character Development, Conflict, Plotting, Analysis of Great Writersʼ Work and saying more by saying less.

Testimonials

Tristan was a highly engaging speaker, who provided real life experiences for the students to relate to. Within the short time frame with each group, he was able to ignite the students' passion in writing, as well as develop some crucial writing skills. We would certainly recommend him to others and book him again.

Centenary Learning Alliance of State Schools - October, 2017

Centenary Learning Alliance of State Schools - October, 2017

Tristan Bancks

Tristan was professional, organised, very self-sufficient, well presented and made the talk interesting and engaging for the students . He was personable and established contact long before his visit and kept in touch along the way. Would highly recommend him. We were very impressed.

St Catherine's Primary School - August, 2017

St Catherine's Primary School - August, 2017

Tristan Bancks

Tristan was amazing and the children loved the visit. They were captivated throughout the performance and joined in with the activities. Since his visit, all Tristan Bancks books have been out on loan continuously. Our teaching staff were also very impressed with Tristan.

Yugumbir State School - August, 2017

Yugumbir State School - August, 2017

Tristan Bancks

Tristan was well-organised and presented fun and informative talks and workshops for our students. The girls found him to be entertaining, knowledgeable and inspirational.

San Sisto College - May, 2017

San Sisto College - May, 2017

Tristan Bancks

My class really loved the talk Tristan gave and some parents also commented that it was great. It was very informative and it was really nice to actually see into a published author’s thought processes. He was awesome! The kids were very inspired and loved listening to him! Witty and entertaining! His workshop was really inspiring and informative. We never knew what an impact music and nature could have on an author's ideas. The writing workshop was a great experience to deepen our understanding of not only writing a story, but also drafting and editing. The students were really captivated. He was relevant, reaffirming the importance of reading and of novels studied in school e.g. Holes and engaging, especially for younger students.